LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — A family is in mourning a week after three-year-old Jaya Brooks was hit and killed by a wrong-way driver.
“It’s not easy losing somebody, especially a child," Brooks' mom, Darea Swain, said. "The pain is unbearable, honestly."
Jaya's family said she was a happy little girl, always smiling and enjoying life to the fullest.
However, on Dec. 9, police said a wrong-way driver crashed into two cars on U.S. 95 northbound at the Durango Dr. off ramp. The crash killed three people including Brooks.
“I got these images in my head that I can’t ever get away, I cannot get out," Brooks' dad, Jan Brooks, said. "That’s the hardest thing for me. When I close my eyes to go to sleep, that’s what I see. My daughter."
Jaya and Jan were in the second car hit.
“I witnessed that accident first and two seconds later, I just remember spinning around," Brooks said.
Brooks sayid the top of his car was missing but his focus was on his daughter.
“I just remember jumping out, opening my daughter’s door, unbuckling her seat belt and grabbing her," Brooks said.
He said a Good Samaritan took them to Centennial Hills Hospital. Then, she was airlifted to University Medical Center. That's where Swain was waiting for her.
“When I saw her, I saw her clothes cut off. I was just like God, just give me a little more time with her, just a little bit more time," Swain said.
That's exactly what was granted. Doctor's were able to keep Brooks alive for two days after the crash, allowing family the time to visit.
“That was my everything. That was my monk," Brooks' aunt, Deja Roosevelt, said. "I’m heartbroken.”
Many family members honored Brooks by getting tattoos of her heartbeat, along with nicknames they have for her. Her family also set up this GoFundMe page raising money for funeral costs. Along with the family setting up fundraising efforts, Smith's Marketplace on West Skye Canyon Dr. will host an event on Tuesday, from 2 p.m. until 4 p.m., to raise even more money.
Brooks' celebration of life service will happen on Friday at Church LV Green Valley. The ceremony is from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. and a celebration from 3 p.m. until 9 p.m.
The family is also working with lawmakers to create a new law, named Jaya's law. They're working on trying to create a way to make people who drive in the wrong direction to face a stricter punishment or to have more preventative measures.
